Equilibrium
by Orion-x
Summary: -hiatus- Okita Sougo was convinced life was very boring until she appeared - the girl carrying a purple umbrella be it rain, hail or shine. Okita x Kagura . A realistic attempt at a high school story. AU
1. Before you proceed

Note from Orion

**To the new readers -** this story is on ** hiatus **, so unless you want to run into a random cliffhanger, try my other story **Stasis **instead. I'll be updating that til my fingers fall off. I promise.

**To my old readers - **Sadly this is **not an update**, but more of a massive author's note. To those that have been with this fic throughout the 4 years where I have randomly dropped the update bomb, thank you so much for your support.

Anyone who's even bothered with reading this probably wants some form of closure. I am going to be very frank and very honest about the status of this story, and at the moment it's looking like a 'permanent hiatus'.

I have honestly tried to pick up from where I have left off. But 2 years prove to be a crazy period where people grow and their opinions change. I'm almost afraid to write because I can't seem to preserve the same flavour I started this piece off with and basically can't seem to catch the plot bunny that have escaped to central Alaska.

That is not to say I've stopped writing, I have actually just posted another OkiKagu story, oh yes I'm trolling you all so hard. If anyone still cares about my existence, I encourage you all to give the new story a shot.

And maybe if you spam me hard enough and tell me I don't write any differently from 2 years ago, I'll find some form of mayo courage to pick this story back up. But for now, I think this is how the situation is going to be.

To everyone who has ever gave me a review, a fav or put me on alert, thank you all for all the love and support. I probably wouldn't have come back to this fandom if it wasn't for you guys :)

And finally...

**To people who love to write - **I am considering the idea of co-authoring this since I do hate to leave things unfinished, so if anyone is keen or interested in making this a collaborated effort, feel free to PM me so I can somehow see this story to the end. Or just tell me I'm lazy and I need to clean up my own mess T_T


	2. An idle brain is the devil's workshop

**Orion – **this is the product of a sudden fascination for the Gintama pairing Okita x Kagura. There's just something about these two that makes me smile. So I guess I felt obliged to bring more love to this pairing.

Don't own so don't sue…well if you are nice, buy me a melon parfait :D

-

**Dangerous Fascination**

Okita Sougo was a firm believer in the element of surprise until it ceased to bring him any form of entertainment whatsoever. Now balanced precariously on the two hind legs of his chair, the boy with light brown hair stared up at the stark white classroom ceiling. For a moment he contemplated on the option of pulling his signature sleeping mask over his eyes and catching the last few minutes of peace on the balmy spring day before class started.

His hands were half way to the ridiculous looking eye mask when the grating sound of the classroom door opening interrupted him. Their homeroom teacher, Ginpachi strolled in leisurely, commanding a certain degree of attention with his dramatic entrance. As usual his figure was slightly slouched and a white stick that could be mistaken for a cigarette dangled out of his mouth. It would most likely be a misleadingly large lollipop.

Okita gave a little sigh as he brought his chair back down to stability and propped his face onto his hands. For a brief moment he wondered if he could plan a sadistic joke on Ginpachi for cutting off his pseudo-would-be nap. He smirked a moment later when something else caught his wayward attention… it seemed like Ginpachi was saved from his nasty end for the time being.

Something beyond the edge of the classroom door fluttered and Okita tilted his head just a fraction further to express a rare touch of interest. _'A new student? In the final year?' _he wondered to himself. _'…interesting.'_

Soft steps echoed when she made her entrance into the sea of soft whispers. She stopped a moment before Ginpachi finished chalking her name onto the board. Yato Kagura. An exchange student from China, partaking her last year of studies in Japan.

Okita's wine coloured eyes lingered on her a fraction longer than a glance. He wondered what had caused the delay. Perhaps it was the cold air of solitude that permeated off her body. Or the uniform that hung loosely on her small frame, obviously a size too large and a shade too pale. It could even be the striking purple umbrella that she carried or the large glasses she hid her eyes. Nonetheless, Kagura was obviously odd in and out – even in the way she dressed her hair.

Okita sat back and finally returned his eyes to her, after all Kagura was perhaps the most interesting thing now in the room. Though getting attention from Okita was definitely not a positive thing.

.: :.

Kagura was not new to transferring schools. Due to her family's line of business, it was a necessary action for her to switch schools every so often, otherwise nasty incidents would happen. Over the recent years she'd been shipped to five different countries around Europe and ten different schools. Finally, her parents decided Japan was the safest bet for now and here she was, standing blandly in front of a crowd of strangers again.

As of the last two schools, Kagura's social skills have all but declined to a negative number, if that was possible. Simply speaking she has stopped her efforts with engaging people and often resorting to melting quietly into the background scenery. She'd realised due to her circumstances, friends would be troublesome to keep safe. It was understandable that the Yato clan was brought up to be honourable, but just because you were honourable doesn't mean the rest of the world would be. Especially those wanting revenge.

Kagura poked the hem of her dogged uniform; evidently her parents were nearing their financial limits. She swallowed a sigh and proceeded silently towards her seat, in front of a certain youth with wine coloured eyes that radiated a certain degree of darkness. As she took a seat, Kagura promised herself that she'd make an effort to stay here this time… and the typical school day continued.

When the days melted to a week and a week melded into two, Kagura's appearance had all but melted to the back of everyone's minds. Certain unkind rumours have also come into circulation due to her air of aloofness and lack of active social pursuits. If any of it bothered her, she did not show it. She was a ghostly figure that attended school each day, an impassive expression masking all her thoughts.

Okita's strange observations continued. He noted her sole interaction was with Ginpachi, while carrying his texts for him in an action often criticised as a teacher's pet, Kagura would smile and talk. He'd often catch her in the park on his way home after Kendo practise sitting on her own. The swing next to her would always be empty while her expression matched it. It wasn't hard to tell she does seem to crave interaction…

On the 15th day of school, Okita began to wonder due to a total lack of other interesting things to wonder about, or so he claimed, why would a person deliberately live in loneliness? He was reminded of himself to a certain degree, only admitting two people to be his true friends. One of which he frequently design sadistic accidents that were almost always intended to be fatal for. But he was just more unique in showing his appreciation.

And so, on that fateful 15th day, he decided to approach her… …unmistakably a bad idea.

-

**Orion – **yeah I know it's not astronomically exciting. I shall diligently continue writing then thanks for reading. Melon parfait?


	3. It takes two to make a quarrel

**Orion – **oh look I am back again. Bringing perhaps a better chapter? I don't have a clue. No lengthy a/n from me, just read and hopefully enjoy :D buy me a parfait if you are nice, any flavour is fine

Hope I am keeping them slightly in character, sorry if Kagura is not as hyper as she is in the anime, I need her to be at least semi- serious at times in this fic.

.: :.

**Contact**

A typical morning for Okita included waking up early and practicing kenjustu down at school with Hijikata and the rest of the club members. Currently he was sitting on the floor looking at a pile of new members scattered all over the floor of the dojo.

"Did I overdo it?" he wondered before looking at the wooden sword in his hand.

Hijikata gave a rather appalled look at the many corpse-like members stacked on the floor before shouting at him from the other end of the hall, where he was practicing with Kondo, "What the hell do you think!? And why do they look like they went through a paper shredder, I thought you were using a wooden sword,"

Okita got up and dusted himself before looking a bit too innocently, "I am, I just like to sharpen mine daily,"

"I'm confiscating it!" Hijikata declared, "Hand it over,"

Okita grinned in a rather delighted manner which could only be interpreted as immense misfortune heading someone's way and promptly hurled his bokken across the room. Needless to say, his aim was rather perfect…if Hijikata hadn't skipped out of the way in the last minute.

"Hijikata-san, you shouldn't dance around in front of swords like that," he casually called out to his friend who was staring wide eyed at the wooden blade impaled into the dojo wall. "It's dangerous you know,"

From his position on the floor, the mayonnaise loving male shook a fist at him, "YOU ARE THE ONE THAT'S DANGEROUS SOUGO!"

Okita knelt down so he was at eyelevel with Hijikata before critically examining the former's face. Finally, with practised detachment that hid his own amusement, he pointed at a small cut on Hijikata's face. "Hijikata-san, you are bleeding. Here, let me rub some salt in it for you,"

Okita was waiting for Hijikata's response but frowned slightly when he received none. Following his friend's line of vision he caught a glimpse of orange hair and the royal purple of an open umbrella before the silhouette disappeared completely into the stark morning light. When he returned his attention to his Vice Captain, the man was already escaping towards the change rooms.

Okita exhaled before taking a small sachet out of the folds of his traditional dojo wear, "What a waste, I even brought the salt. Better not waste this," And so, while Hijikata was busy showering, Okita found a new home for his little pouch of salt inside Hijikata's bottle of mayo… For good measure he also dropped in an equal portion of pepper. Anything for a friend you know?

.: :.

Kagura was standing alone in the hall outside class 3Z when someone called out to her. Her umbrella was hanging limply in her hand.

"Oi China, are all girls in your country this short?"

She didn't register they were speaking to her at first, since there was no one called China around. She was Kagura. Yet the emptiness of the hall could only mean they are addressing her, as normal people don't usually talk to themselves. Still, one could argue that we _are _talking about Okita Sougo here, and he is by all means, _not _normal.

Kagura wrinkled her nose, she might be slightly mute these days, but it doesn't mean she was the kind to take insults lying down. Turning around to look at the person, she tilted her head and retorted. "Are all boys assholes around here?"

Okita gave a slight shrug, "Pretty much,"

He drew up to level with her, still carrying his practice sword and Kagura looked at him warily. Okita was vaguely reminded of the time when he met a stray cat on the streets and it was torn between biting him or eating the biscuits (with chilli centres intended for Hijikata) he offered it. Okita decided to bait her for the sake of amusement.

"Are you lost China? Do you need me to walk you to your locker?" Okita continued in a slightly patronising way.

Kagura narrowed her eyes, she definitely wasn't a fan of been spoken to in a condescending manner. "No, I am not lost. And stop calling me China, my name is Kagura,"

Okita shrugged before continuing his way down the hall. "Whatever you say China,"

…_whoosh._

Reflexively he managed to block the umbrella that was swung like a baseball bat straight at his cranium by blocking its path with his wooden sword. He tilted his head back a little and smirked. "Girls shouldn't be violent you know, it makes them seem uneducated and uncultured,"

"…Like I care." was all she said before she forced his sword out of his grip with her strength. Okita was hardly one to be surprised, but this particular morning, on the 15th day of school, his eyes widened just that fraction to betray his shock as his bokken sailed out of his unsuspecting hands. It connected with the window sharply, shattering it into a shower of glass before continuing on its merry way out to the world of fresh air beyond. It disappeared below the windowsill of the third floor corridor window in a matter of seconds.

Not long afterwards, there was a large unmistakable yell from the ground floor. "Sougo what the fuck are you trying to do?!"

Two heads poked out from the broken window on the third floor. Hijikata was standing with Okita's sharpened wooden sword embedded into the ground between his legs and a shower of broken glass. His face was beginning to form into an angry snarl as another cut started to seep on his handsome face. Fuming, Hijikata shouted a string of insults at him before calling out something about the infirmary.

"Ahh…now you've done it," Okita drawled with a hint of hidden glee. He looked at the broken window and his sword which is now several metres below him. Pointing out the object to Kagura, he smirked, "Fetch."

Kagura lowered her umbrella and looked at Okita blandly; this guy was infuriating "Get it yourself, I'm not your slave,"

Okita was still looking out the window when he replied, "Funny, I could have sworn you dress like the child of a maid," Kagura didn't even bother replying knowing she'd encourage him if she did. She could however, feel the involuntary stab of self consciousness due to her inability to afford a new set of uniform. Her hand tightened around the stem of her umbrella and Okita caught the movements out of the corners of his eyes. He wondered if she was going to bash his head in, now that he was weapon-less.

"You are really annoying you know?" she settled the matter on that statement and entered the classroom before he could reply. In the solitude of the hall, Okita gave a thoughtful shrug. Life had surprises after all. Now the next step was to see how far he could push her buttons. With a smile that could only spell calamity for Kagura's intentions of a low profile, Okita headed downstairs to retrieve his bokken.

.: :.

**Orion – **and so without much trouble Okita pisses her off, so now what happens next you ask? I dunno… I'll think of something :P

I am by no means a regular updater, I write when I find muse and post after some editing. Reviews are highly welcomed along with critics. Also tell me if you find any mistakes, it takes me a while before I can read something I write without cringing, so my editing skills are pretty lame at the moment.


	4. To add insult to injury

**Orion – **I must say I don't update to a schedule, so don't count on a pattern. Rather than forcing myself to write, I am just going to do it as it comes. Bad philosophy I know, it's called the irregular period philosophy and update routine. With that clear, sorry for the wait.

Thanks to all those that reviewed, you guys make me smile, despite my capped internet. :)

-

**Patience **

Over the next few days, Okita and Kagura had developed a rather "endearing" bond – otherwise known as one way amusement and one way hate. The more resentful of the two parties was currently alone in her home room wiping windows balefully.

After his little stunt with the bokken and the window, Kagura was dobbed in by a rather gossipy classmate who happened to have traversed onto the same hall just as she broke the window. There was no mention of Okita anywhere, so after a warning, she was sentenced to two weeks of after school detention.

She was about ready to accept her fate… if he hadn't been constantly taunting her for the last few days in a row. His attention definitely wasn't welcomed, nor did it seem to sit well with a few selected female members in the class.

Throwing the cloth back into the bucket with a more force than necessary, Kagura eyed the splashes of water spilt all over the floor. Great. Now she has to mop it.

"Having fun there China?" the voice mocked with fake cheerfulness.

Kagura narrowed her eyes and turned around. "What do you want?" She asked cautiously.

Okita was leaning casually against the sliding door of the classroom with his arms crossed. He was watching her with an irritating smile on his face. Kagura resisted the urge to run up to him and smack him across the face, just to remove that condescending smirk.

"You sure make a good cleaner China," he continued while taking a few more steps into the room. The soft fabrics of his hakama rustled with each step. Obviously he'd just finished his kenjustu training down at the school dojo.

Kagura frowned, he sure was making great use of his time…harassing her as soon as he finished practice. Okita stopped a few feet in front of her. There was only a table between them. His smile decidedly widened a little. The Chinese girl couldn't help but get the feeling she was like his prey at the moment. Yet pride in her Yato decent made her shake away that feeling as soon as it came. They were supposed to be feared…yet these days it was more the opposite…but that was irrelevant to this situation and she pushed the thoughts away.

With a cloth in hand, Kagura straightened her spine in an attempt to catch up to Okita's taller frame. Her eyes caught Okita's wine coloured ones, glimmering a little too red with the afternoon sun playing with his iris. The predatory feeling behind his smile never left him while Kagura watched him cautiously from behind her glasses.

"Don't you have something better to do than dirtying the floor I just cleaned?" Kagura asked testily while turning away from him slightly. The smile was asking for a punch, she really can't afford to get into more trouble at the moment.

"Relax, I am only wearing socks," Okita shrugged in his casual voice, in actuality he probably couldn't care less if she had to mop the floor one hundred times. If that did actually happen, he'd probably be sitting on a table with front row seats and popcorn just to watch her suffer. Curiously he toed the floor and looked at the smudge on his white socks.

"You haven't even mopped yet," he accused while looking at her with his semi amused face.

"I was about to." She shot back.

"I thought you were cleaning windows." Okita retorted, and he knew he had her.

Kagura wrinkled her nose as she turned away. For a moment the only sound that could be heard was the sound of sloshing water as she washed the cloth heatedly. The feeling of wanting to pound Okita into a wall was starting to grow. They both knew that it was becoming apparent.

"The room is a little big to clean alone isn't it?" Okita stated openly before settling himself comfortably on a table. He was leaning back and supporting himself with his hands while studying Kagura. The boy allowed himself an indulgent smirk when he caught the minor tremor in her shoulders. It wasn't hard to tell she was reaching her limits.

"I don't need your help." The girl snapped determinedly and went about scrubbing a window fervently. She was taking most of her irritation out on the specks of dirt on the window.

"I never offered," came the airy reply.

A groan from the window pane betrayed the force Kagura was using. Keeping her temper had always been one of the harder things in life. The Yato clan had always loved fighting and irritation was always a good spark to set a fight into motion. She took in a few deep breaths to calm the part of her that wanted to snap Okita's neck.

"Please leave me alone," Kagura grounded out as politely as she could while tossing the cloth back into the bucket and splashing more water onto the ground. She turned around and faced Okita, her eyes slightly stormy.

"I am not the sort of person to put away a toy before I finish amusing myself China."

"I am not your toy." Kagura rolled her eyes.

Okita slid off the table and raised his hand until it was a few inches above Kagura's head. "To be qualified as a proper human being you must be this tall," he deadpanned. "Did your mother not feed you enough calcium?"

Kagura's eyes flashed dangerously as her hands curled into fists. She hated it when people talked about her mother. Without warning she went to punch him with an unexpected amount of vigour.

The sudden viciousness and fury behind her attack caught Okita off guard. He was expecting a volcanic eruption of some sort, but instead this was like a nova strike. The element of surprise brought a surge of adrenaline into his system, waking him up with a mixture of dangerous anticipation and excitement. It had been so long since someone had brought him this much amusement. Kagura was definitely something precious.

It would have been a lovely haymaker had she not lost her footing. The badly worn sole of her school shoes combined with the soapy concoction made to clean windows ensured Kagura an express ticket to a disturbed centre of gravity. While her arms wanted to go one way, her feet slipped out from underneath her and went the other. Gravity demanded she go down and she did a few seconds later.

Okita made no move to help. Firstly because there was a table in the way and secondly, nose diving to catch a toy wasn't in his best interest. Blandly he watched as she knocked her head on a table while falling and raised his eyebrows slightly at the loud crash that resulted.

"Oi China, you alright?" he asked in customary response, _as if_ that was real care in his voice.

When he received no response, Okita climbed over the table and blinked at the girl sprawled on the ground. Kagura was out cold, most likely due to the obvious knock to her head. The bruise was already showing on the side of her forehead, close to the hairline.

After toeing her with his feet a few times, Okita squatted down and sighed thoughtfully. She'd most likely wake up with a monster of a headache and he'd most likely not want to be here when she woke up. He was getting up to make his exit when he stopped. Okita looked at her again.

"When people play with toys they have to look after them too…" he mumbled as he knelt down again, "or so my sister says."

She was lighter than he anticipated. If he was lucky, the school nurse should still be in the infirmary. She would know what to do. The said young woman jumped slightly when he opened the door to her office.

"Uh…sorry to bother you sensei, but she passed out." He reported in his naturally bored voice and nodded his head at the body slung over his shoulder.

The school nurse gave him a shocked look with her leaf coloured eyes. "Okita-kun! That's definitely not how to carry a girl, especially if she's unconscious!"

The boy eyed the skirt and legs in his line of vision and edged his way into the room, almost hitting Kagura's dangling head on the partially opened door. "This isn't a girl, it's China."

The nurse gave him a wry smile as she opened the curtains to a bed. "Of course…" she managed, unsure of the relationship between the two youngsters. She retrieved an ice pack from the fridge and handed it to him, instructing him to hold it to her head while she go and make a call to her parents.

The boy eyed the ice pack in his hand and frowned. It'd be awfully boring to stay here and hold an ice pack while he could go home. China was just a toy after all. A sudden idea that only he can come up with later, he gave one last look at the sleeping figure before slipping out of the infirmary.

When the nurse returned, she was baffled by the fact that Kagura lived alone and by the sleeping mask strapped to her head. It was holding the ice pack in place while covering half her face with its odd placement. Okita was no where in sight. For curiosity's sake, the nurse dislodged the small piece of paper tucked between the ice pack and the mask. The dogged folding was awfully eye-catching. At this day and age, who wasn't nosy and curious anyway?

The uneven writing wasn't hard to make out, but the phrase made no sense whatsoever. Putting it back to its original place, she gave a little shrug and dismissed it with a benevolent phrase that adults always used when faced with something they don't understand about the younger generation. "Kids these days."

-

About ten minutes walk away from the school, a youth with both a bokken in hand and a purple umbrella in the other headed home, a little more than satisfied with turn of events.

_I have your umbrella – _

Was all the note said.

-

**Orion - ** I hope I didn't go too far with anything. There's a fine line between adequate and overkill, and I believe I lack skill in that department. If anything is OOC, tell me. If you have ideas tell me. If you have a free parfait, let me know :D

If you want to review, you are possibly my new best friend. :D


	5. Charity begins at home

**Orion – **hello? I know I know, the last time I updated was a month and some days ago. I'm terribly sorry, truly. I was doing exams for the most of last month and I had been sick, which stopped me from writing. Also because I am lazy… so you can pelt me with vegetables.

Well… aside from that, thank you so much for all the support and reviews and critics and ideas and e-parfaits I can taste with my e-tongue. You guys rock :) keep them coming.

Now…onto the next chapter.

**-**

**Uninvited Guest **

When Kagura woke up, the sunlight streaming into the infirmary was starting to tint orange. It was getting late. Pulling off the eye mask and discovering the note, she was torn between feeling annoyed or grateful. In the end, she settled for punching him as soon as she saw him next.

Ten minutes later with the guidance of the school nurse, she was heading towards the lair of the beast called Okita Sougo. The terrible creature that has taken her precious umbrella hostage. Kagura treasured that umbrella not because it was a gift from her parents, but it also kept her sensitive skin from been harassed by the sun.

She would have a brilliant time walking to school tomorrow if she didn't recover it. You know, some people's pigments just don't agree with the sun.

As she walked hurriedly through the mess of houses in the residential area, she rubbed her neck cautiously. Even in the setting sun the tender skin was already feeling warm. Direct sunlight would probably turn her into a lobster.

She eyed the eyemask held firmly in her left hand and gave a start. Kagura frowned and wondered if she'd catch aids if she let that thing near her head again. As absurd as the idea was, she didn't exempt the possibility; it was Okita Sougo's item. Who knew what fatal disease he'd be carrying…?

Pulling it close to her face, the girl gave a curious sniff. Blinking a few times, Kagura stopped walking. What entered her nose wasn't the spicy scent of sadism but rather a fragrant whiff of jasmine that was so completely against Okita's character that Kagura felt obliged to pull the item closer and take in another draught of the surprising scent.

Her cheeks heated when the embarrassment hit her. She was sniffing this guy's eyemask for goodness sake. If anyone had seen her, she'd never hear the end of it. She started walking again. Okita would make sure of that… While pulling on the eyemask backwards so it covered her neck, the girl let her mind stray for just a second. In the absence of conscious thought, Kagura wondered if Okita's hair was actually as soft and pleasant as the smell on the eyemask – the companion that sat on his head half the time.

A mild stumble in her confident steps betrayed the baffling sense of confusion closing in on her mind. Her face reddened at the sudden onset of romantic thoughts and Kagura shook her head. She could think that way about a lot of people, but seriously, Okita definitely shouldn't be one of them. Promptly filling her head with images of torture and possible physical pain she could inflict onto the unfortunate soul, Kagura continued on her way.

Looking around, she eyed the scribbles that were supposed to be a map on the back of her hand. Marvelling the school nurse's lack of artistic talent, the girl surveyed the fencing next to her and continued around the corner.

"It's supposed to be here… where is the house?" she mumbled and looked around blandly.

It wasn't until she walked right past the front door and looked eye to eye with the large wooden plague with the characters Okita on it, did she realise the whole enclosed compound was Okita's residence. A strange plan began to give birth to itself in her mind.

As a slow smile spread across her face, Kagura decided she'd sabotage his house and steal her umbrella back. The girl glanced down both ends of the streets before making a leap for the wall. With her family background, such a feat wasn't hard. The difficult part was trying to find proper grip on the sloping tiles that lined the top of the wall.

After a little scrambling and clawing, she managed to get on top of the wall and balanced herself. Inside the compound was pretty much empty. There was a single house inside, few hardy shrubs survived around the wall without care. Kagura frowned a little now; she was puzzled at the living quarters of such an evil creature. She'd never expected to be so…frugal. It could be lined with torture devices and littered with dungeons for all she cared …but when it was so sparse in reality, it unnerved her greatly. Was there some part to this person's character that she hasn't witnessed?

Kagura doesn't take to confusion well, so for good measure, she kicked off a few pieces of tiling into the messy tangle of shrubs. She was so busy studying the living quarters that she didn't notice Okita appearing around the corner of his house.

"Oi China, I wouldn't stand there, I can see up your skirt," he called nonchalantly.

Kagura's attention snapped away from the house and landed on Okita. She raised her eyebrows and blinked a few times, suddenly at a loss for words. Noticing her stupor, Okita cocked his head to the side and watched her with his wine coloured eyes.

"What's the matter?" he questioned.

Kagura allowed herself to stare at him a moment longer until the image was all but burnt firmly into the film of her memories. Finally, she allowed herself a smirk, "Is that…a floral apron?"

Okita blinked a few times before looking down. He frowned before replying quickly, "No, it's a banana sundae."

Kagura snorted and burst out laughing. She'd never seen him flustered before, nor did she ever dream that he'd ever lose his aloofness. The pink tint on his face though, betrayed it all. Feeling slightly better and putting the business of punching him in the back of her mind, she dropped down from the wall to approach him.

Okita was standing still and watching Kagura out of the corner of his eyes. Although he was embarrassed to be caught wearing an apron, he tried his best not to show it. At the moment, he was more curious at seeing Kagura laugh. She hardly smiled at school, let alone laugh. In that second, she was probably the liveliest thing in his whole yard. It was…strangely endearing…

…until her face was inches away from his.

"You alright?" she asked curiously, after he hadn't moved for a while.

The reply she got was sharp. "Fine," he snapped before turning around and continuing back to his house. Kagura took off her shoes and padded in after him like an enthusiastic child. "Usually people only go in after they get invited in you know," he quipped.

His comment was ignored completely.

"You cooking?" Kagura asked with the slight hint of a smile.

"No, I like dressing up in floral aprons just for fun," Okita rolled his eyes in reply.

"Whatever floats your boat," Kagura waved it off. She followed him through the traditional house, all the way to the kitchen. She was learning rather fast on how to deal with his prickly personality. Okita was rather impressed she wasn't trying to punch his head off right now. There was still a good two meters to the kitchen. He shrugged and left his fate to the Goddesses.

He returned to cooking while Kagura sat there and watched him. He didn't ask her to leave nor did she ask anymore questions. There was just silence and the aromatic smell of food.

Okita was reaching for something in the pantries behind Kagura when he noticed the eyemask around her neck. Just as he was reaching to pluck the item off her, the girl turned around and caught his eyes with her wide blue ones. Okita blinked a few times and withdrew his hand.

Kagura didn't even notice. Instead, she chose to question him. "Are you going to feed me?" she enquired.

Okita snorted and looked at the packet of super spicy senbei in his hand then replied, "Nope."

"How rude," Kagura pouted and slouched further into her chair. She seemed completely at home and unabashed to be where she was.

"You are the one that invited yourself in, who's rude here?" he mused before dropping the packet on the kitchen table.

"Still I wouldn't be here if you hadn't taken my umbrella. I'd be at home cooking," the girl groused as she reached for the packet of senbei.

Okita smiled when he heard her open the packet and continued his task of loading up a few bento boxes. He eyed her reaction and was rather shocked to see she didn't mind the mouth numbing spiciness. With a ferocious determination, she'd worked her way through half the packet while he finished cooking.

He faced her as he placed the wrapped parcel of bento boxes on the counter, "I guess you'll blackmail me now?"

Kagura looked up at him with a senbei in her mouth and batted her eyes in confusion. Then they glimmered with a strange light "Oh aiight, 'bout da fowry apron aight?" she mouthed enthusiastically around the senbei which wobbled with each syllable.

Okita hid his amusement by bluntly rebuffing her. "Seriously China, no refinement whatsoever, swallow before you talk."

Kagura glared at him with the senbei hanging out of her mouth and rolled her eyes. She noticed the boy was eyeing the packet. "No more," she told him triumphantly. The last piece of senbei bobbed mockingly between her lips.

The boy tapped his foot a few times while the girl savoured her victory, then without giving second thoughts to the prospects of Yato cooties, he reached out and yanked the half finished piece of senbei out of Kagura's mouth and popped it into his own just as quickly.

Okita was smiling like the Cheshire cat at her shocked expression, even if he has cooties now, it was well worth it. The expression soon melted to one of annoyance and her blue eyes flashed dangerously. "What's with you and stealing my stuff?" she looked at him sceptically.

Okita carelessly ticked a few items off on his hand. "Your hour of free time after school for detention, your umbrella and now a senbei. That's only three, hardly counts as anything." He listed in a flat monotone.

When he looked up, she was still glaring at him.

He shrugged and offered uncaringly. "Here, you can hit me," then paused and added with a challenging smile, "If~ you can reach this high."

Kagura's mouth dropped open and she jumped out of her chair. "Oh that's it! I'm going to pound you into the ground,"

The boy just managed to duck at her upper swing; it caught a few strands of his fine hair but not his head. Rolling into the hall he got up and just managed to deflect a punch directed for his kidneys. Although close ranged combat wasn't what he excelled in, he does enjoy a good spar, and this was perhaps the best he got in a while.

Kagura looked like she was enjoying herself too, because there was the faint hint of a smile on her face. When they pulled apart, they were both panting lightly. There was about two metres between them and neither had managed to hurt the other. Well… Okita didn't intend to hurt her, but he was quite sure she'd rip his balls off if she got the chance to.

Kagura was getting a little agitated. Things weren't working as smoothly as she hoped. By now she should be pounding his head into the ground. But Okita was agile like her, with good reflexes, she hasn't even landed a single blow yet, but he'd managed to poke her a few times. That was when she saw the rug he was standing on. An evil idea spawned.

She feinted a punch and watched him block, while he was distracted, she ducked for the rug. With a mighty pull Okita lost his balance. However, Fate was definitely conspiring against Kagura today. The intended plan as for Okita to fall backwards and Kagura to jump on him then pin him to the ground while… doing horrible stuff to his face. That would have been beautiful.

But.

He fell forwards instead…

She watched in a slowed kind of terror as his frame tipped forward. The halo of light behind his body would have made him the most enchanting being if he hadn't…

**Thump. **

…landed on top of her.

Their faces were inches apart again, but this time, only much closer. Perhaps a little too close. The colours of their irises clashed with each other. While Kagura fought hard not to blush at the closeness, Okita was more curious as examining the flawless canvas that was Kagura's pale face. She really was like china, literally.

He dipped his head a little after eying her lips. They were such a soft shade of red. Kagura's eyes widened much to his delight; she was so easy to shock once you land her in a form of awkwardness. Well she was definitely in trouble now, awkwardness was Okita's territory.

He closed his eyes and dipped his head a little lower. Kagura's eyes couldn't get any larger and so instead, her heart decided to oversupply her face with blood. She panicked. This was what happened in all those sappy romantic movies her dad used to watch. They do something stupid, and then end up on top of each other, and they kiss… five minutes later she's pregnant.

…maybe not so dramatic, but still. _Okita_. If their lips touched, Kagura would get an express ticket to hell. She'd send herself there. His face loomed over hers. Every second he seemed to be closing in. His hair tickled her face and the intoxicating scent of jasmine. It was there again. She felt her eyes close in submission and patiently Kagura waited.

There was a soft click.

Two seconds later, their lips didn't meet; instead there was a soft prod on her forehead. Okita had poked her with his index finger, while sitting above her with a very pleased smile on his face. He definitely didn't have to point anything out; they both knew she'd been had. But Okita was Okita, and he thrives on people's pain and embarrassment, that was a lesson Kagura had just learnt, albeit painfully.

"You thought I was going to kiss you," he grinned before poking her flushed cheeks.

Kagura exhaled and turned her face away from his. "You are heavy, get off me." She stated bluntly. Okita got up as he was told and Kagura sat up to glare at his floorboards and the rug that had betrayed her. Okita watched the girl trying to burn holes into his rug and silently uttered a word of thanks to it.

What Kagura didn't know, was the fact that his heart was beating just as fast as hers, because for a moment he didn't want to stop and draw back to poke her. Well, what she didn't know can't hurt her. Though that dejected look of defeat on her face was quite…appealing. Okita shook his head a little, that thought wasn't supposed to be there.

He offered her a hand; the generosity of a victor was boundless. For a moment he thought she was going to bite him. Until she sighed and took it. He helped her up and then turned around just as quickly before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Consolation," was all he said.

Kagura who'd been sulking and avoiding his eyes til now stopped glaring at the rug and trailed her eyes to the rectangular object in her hand. It was a box of some sort, red and foreign. He'd managed to slip it into her hand when helping her up. She couldn't help but smile, that guy was a sadist alright, but he was also impossibly smooth.

"What is it?" she asked out loud, the annoyance of her defeat not completely gone from her voice.

"Sukonbu." came the reply.

-

**Orion – **Ahh fake sap. I'm terrible, but I guess I can't let them stick like magnets yet, otherwise I'd have nothing to write. I guess I'll go back to work on the next chapter while you guys poke me with pitchforks for being lazy.

And if you find any mistakes, because I am a lousy proof-reader, please let me know. And yes, I am ESL kid, so English isn't my forte.

Well let me know what you think. Reviews make my day so much brighter :)

(Note: I'll be leaving for China on the 11th Dec, so I probably won't have access to the internet, I am not sure if I will fit an update before I leave, but I promise I'll do it when I come back if I don't. 30 days. So if I don't see you all til January…a very early Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, may you get your sadism in many colourful boxes)


	6. Big fish eats little fish

**Orion – **I wonder how many people out there wants to pelt me with dead vegetables right now... I so lied when I said I'll update when I come back from Chinaland. But in truth I had a very big writer's block when I returned and just didn't know how to continue. More excuses... Uni had been busy but I guess I haven't abandoned the story yet. Thank you to all those that favourited, alerted, reviewed and pmed me to keep going. Here is the next chapter that came to me all of a sudden.

...hopefully there are still people reading this. I haven't been on for so long it took me a full 10 minutes to remember how to upload and update stuff. Ramble ramble... this is one long message. tl;dr~ to the story!

* * *

**Improvisation**

Kagura had managed to count 5 left turns, 8 right turns and countless suspicious alleys branching off before she decided she was most likely, lost. Mapping your surroundings had never been an easy thing to do when you are a girl, and at the speed that Okita was walking, the task didn't get any easier.

The Chinese girl actually didn't wish to follow the sadistic boy around, but since he was still holding her precious umbrella hostage, she had no choice but to follow, waiting for a chance to snatch it back. Okita didn't make the task less difficult by pulling it out of her reach every time the girl made a grab for it. Kagura had the feeling that he was playing around with her.

She frowned then pouted, then resorted to glaring daggers at the back of his head, hoping her irritation would make them grow solid enough with her annoyance to penetrate his skull and sever a blood vessel or something. It just wasn't normal for someone to be able to evade her that efficiently, _especially _while carrying a stack of bento boxes.

"Give it back." Kagura demanded half-heartedly already knowing the answer.

"No." Okita replied firmly and just continued in a direction that only he knows.

Wrinkling her nose, the girl made another haphazard leap at the boy from the side. Aware of her growing frustration that made her advances more clumsy and aggressive, Okita sidestepped her attempt with practiced grace. Kagura stopped herself just in time to save her nose from colliding rather painfully with a conveniently placed dumpster.

The number of failed attempts was mounting and with it, Kagura's pride was shrinking in an inverse proportion. So in order to conserve her already damaged dignity from what happened just about twenty minutes earlier at his house, Kagura decided to just follow quietly but at an uncomfortable close distance behind his back.

She was definitely aiming for the Japanese vengeful ghost image – you know, shadows over her eyes by lowering her head; making sure she breathed on his neck a little with each step; not to mention peering over his shoulder every so often while being in a very close proximity to encourage the growth of paranoia. Did I mention chanting in a monotonous drone in a foreign tongue?

Perhaps if it had been anyone else, they would definitely be very freaked out and running for their lives by now. But it was Okita we were talking about…the boy that can most likely look at the Grudge in the face while commenting her choice of shampoo was dreadful and perhaps she should try a healthier diet with meat to change her pallid complexion. Needless to say, all he did was stop dead in his tracks and planted his feet solidly on the ground.

Kagura of course, didn't realise quickly enough and rebounded off him almost instantly. Another little bruise on her ego not to mention one on her butt. She glared angrily up at the boy who was still cheerfully popping a piece of gum, blissfully oblivious to her building frustration. Or perhaps it was his intentions to get her frustrated in the first place.

"Chinayou have eyes for a reason you know?" Okita teased while rubbing his back in mock pain. Kagura could clearly see the evil delight in his eyes; _of course _he stopped on purpose.

"Well for your information, normal people don't stop suddenly when they walk," she replied heatedly.

"Well I think we clearly established that I am not normal," Okita rolled his eyes wearily.

"Yeah, clearly you are a prick," Kagura groused while getting up. She dusted herself and patted down her skirt before pushing past Okita. "I'm walking in front now,"

The latter didn't mind having the short girl in front of him. After all, this gave him some unrestricted thinking space. Who knows what kind of weird plot she'd brew behind his back? Okita wasn't so keen on losing limbs just to tease a girl - although she was deliciously fun to stir.

…and well, from behind her, he can always lift up her skirt with her own umbrella.

For a moment Okita just watched her taking authoritative steps in front of him, he was quite sure she had no idea where she was going. Still it was interesting to see her cross her arms and press on like she knew. Okita wanted to laugh because she reminded him so heavily of his younger days. The days when he'd use to laugh, get jealous of Mitsuba's suitors and of course, openly demonstrate his obnoxiousness.

Unlike these days, when there was only silence at home and a sinister sadism that he derived humour from. His wine coloured eyes darkened for a moment as he wondered if he was jealous of Kagura for just that instance. Was he envious of her carefree nature and her lack of burden?

"Oi prick,"

Her voice snapped him out of his reverie. To cover for his uncharacteristic lapse in personality, Okita let his eyes drift lazily to hers.

"What?" he replied just as blandly.

Kagura cocked her head to the side and Okita's eyes followed her fringe that spilled onto her pale face. "Where are we going?"

The boy had to think for a moment before he could reply for he'd been so caught with his own musings he lost track of their destination. Finally, adjusting his grip on the stack of bento boxes he replied honestly. "To the hospital."

The girl gave him a strange look, "Why?"

"No reason."

Kagura knitted her brows and a half pout made its way onto her face, "Then I don't want to go."

"Why not?" Okita pressed, while waving her umbrella a little to emphasis her position within this situation.

Kagura frowned before crossing her arms indignantly, "Plainly because we aren't even friends, and I am not obligated to follow you around like we have that sort of relationship."

Her words echoed sternly down the alley and Okita couldn't help but feel a little sting in her choice of vocabulary. He hated to admit it, but she did have a point, their behaviour towards each other has been nothing outside of teasing and provoking, it can hardly count as something welcoming or even remotely friendly.

The boy took a deep breathe before fixing his eyes on her, a small ounce of coldness mixed in with the strange red glint. For a moment, Kagura thought he was going to hit her, but that look had danced away so quickly in his eyes, she wondered if it had been there at all. The only assumption she can make from it was Okita could be very dangerous if he wanted to be.

"Well what do you propose we do then? My _acquaintance._"

If Kagura's words had stung, Okita's tone would have aimed to deliver a potent verbal slap. Very clearly, Kagura had entered forbidden territory here. As she floundered in her mind for a way to revert the situation, the boy took her silence as his own victory.

"Hold these," he commanded and quickly filled her hands with the stack of bentos, "this is a radar directed, portable GPS system that will guide you home,"

"Wha-" Kagura furrowed her brows at the sudden weight of the bentos. The next thing she knew, her vision was obscured as Okita placed the eyemask on her face which she can't remove due to the boxes of the bentos she was holding with both hands.

"Safe trip home~" he farewelled cheerfully while Kagura started shaking her head uncomfortable, unnerved by her sudden loss of vision. The weight of the bento boxes left her hands a suddenly as they came and not a moment sooner, her hands went to her face and ripped the eyemask off.

Okita was gone. He'd left her alone in the twisting alleys, his footsteps a ghostly whisper as he moved on without her. Kagura took just a moment to register the shock of been abandoned suddenly. What in the world was that asshole playing at?

Without Okita's presence Kagura felt a nostalgic feeling rising up against her own wishes. The bittersweet sensation of loneliness pooled around her heart, causing an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach but a conflicting feeling of security in her head. Loneliness... at least it meant that no one close to her could get hurt even though she would most likely be the one smarting from all the negativity of her aloofness.

Kagura let her eyes fall to the wayward eyemask that was once again in her hands. She was back to where she was from the start of the afternoon. No umbrella, but a stupid eyemask that she would never use. Sighing she wondered about the prospects of buying herself a new umbrella rather letting their little game continue.

She was not going to try and put another person in danger just to quench her own selfish desires for companionship... ... although the notion of involving that boy did seem feasibly entertaining. He didn't appear to be easily broken and he was perhaps the most amusing thing that has appeared in her life thus far.

For the longest time, she stared at the ground, almost unwilling to move from her spot in case the boy decided to come back for her. It was ironic how much she wanted to get rid of him just a moment ago.

"Idiot, he's not going to come back even if you stay here til tomorrow," Kagura mumbled to herself angrily, "game over..."

Kicking the ground a little, Kagura frowned and glared up at the setting sun. She really didn't know what she was annoyed over, but she was seething a little on the inside. No doubt she was lost. Absolute defeat would be what she'd call this situation.

Having no methods of finding her way out or getting home, Kagura reached into her skirt pocket to find her phone. Her parents provided the most basic needs for her survival, but they knew they couldn't provide everything. As a last resort, they left her with one phone number that she'd turn to in an emergency and so, that was the only number and contact on her phonebook.

Sakata Gintoki.

He knew everything about the Yato clan, and even worked alongside them at one stage. He was just one of the luckier few that managed to quit at an early age and bury his name. Either way, Kagura had no idea why her parents placed so much trust in him. It must be the perm or something.

Been a few years Kagura's senior, Gintoki had been around since she was young, and Kagura had always noticed a strange nervousness in her system when she was around him...

Flipping open her phone, she brought up the phonebook and was surprised to find two entries there rather than one. Right before Sakata Gintoki, an entry called Okita Sougo was registered neatly in her phonebook. Kagura gaped at the name and number, positively confused at when they found their way into her phone...

_When the hell...? _Her thoughts echoed in her head.

Although she had the strong urge to hit the delete button, she stopped herself in the last minute.

Was he baiting her again?

Indecisively she poked the arrow keys a few times. The highlight travelled between the names Okita and Sakata in a mad frenzy of flashes. She was confused as to why there was such indecision at which number she should dial. It was clear as day which option was of better use to her, yet the darker path was always more enticing.

Checking her watch Kagura realised she had wasted a good half an hour standing around doing nothing in a rapidly darkening alley. Biting her lip she mashed the arrow keys with her thumb and counted until ten. If she can't make her own decisions, then chance can. When she stopped, she hit the dial key immediately and pressed the phone to her ears.

With each beep of the dial tone, her breathe quickened and her heart paced a little. It felt like there was an eternity between each ring. What if she got Gintoki? What if she got Okita? Both were equally uncomfortable and awkward as the other. But wouldn't Gintoki be better? But he was her homeroom teacher now, wouldn't that be socially retarded? Then what about that sadist that left her there in the first place?

Finally, the person on the other line picked up the phone with a simple 'Hello' before Kagura could finish contemplating her thoughts.

The voice identified the owner immediately.

Kagura's heart skipped a beat as her eyes widened just a fraction.

* * *

On the seventh floor of a clean white hall, tinged with the smell of antiseptic liquid, Okita quietly ate his bento with his sister, watching her and feeling an untouchable illusion of warmth in his dark soul as she ate in contentment. A third bento sat untouched on the counter of her bedside table along with a vivid purple umbrella. The private hospital room was bathed in a lovely orange glow.

"Sou-chan?" Mitsuba questioned her brother in her quiet voice.

"What it is aneue?" Okita replied with a quick flick of his eyes to hers, slightly sharper than usual.

"Were you going to bring a friend along?" the innocent question probed him and Okita felt just a little uncomfortable.

Something was weighing on his conscience in the form of a lost girl chasing after an umbrella. Swallowing a small mouthful of rice that felt a little lumpier than usual due to a knot in his throat, Okita smiled placidly at his sister before taking out his phone.

"They had some matters to attend to, said they would call me back," he lied effortlessly before sliding the device shut. A small dangling item caught Mitsuba's eye and Okita followed her line of sight to the strangely familiar tassel that now acted as his phone charm.

"It's cute," his sister gave a small smile of approval before reaching for theTabascosauce on the table counter.

_So is the owner. _Okita smiled enigmatically in his thoughts. _..But they'd definitely want it back. _And so, the small bubble of calm harmony remained undisturbed as Okita shared his meal with his sister. Any thoughts of Kagura's personal wellbeing vanished from his mind as he reassured himself again.

If Kagura can't get herself out of that situation, their game simply won't be worth continuing.

With that spontaneous "rule" established, Okita waited patiently for his phone call as he enjoyed his food, all the while planning the next part of this impromptu game.

* * *

**Orion-**-hides- did I let anyone down? I'll just be honest, this story isn't dead, but I have no regular update schedule. I guess I write when ideas come. Thanks to those that have stayed with me. I'll try and update as soon as possible. Although your reviews do help heaps in motivating my lazy nature, so thank you all those that took time to prod me to work.

Lastly... I love and welcome any ideas, feedbacks, critics and suggestions. :3 and... my proofreading sucks, if you find anything please let me know =]


	7. Experience is the best teacher

**Orion**** – **Oh deeear ): I realised it has been ages since I posted anything to this story. For clarification this is becoming just a side hobby so I'll just keep writing whenever I find muse or have an idea that comes into my head. For everyone who still comes to check if this is alive, I love you all. And for all those that reviewed, thanks a lot guys, you help motivate me so much :3 And yes.. life does tend to get busy. Which sucks big time.

* * *

**Two Calls Away**

"Hello…" the voice drawled lazily, stretching itself out like a fat cat on a Sunday afternoon.

"Gin-chan!" Kagura's voice fell awkwardly from her mouth and tripped over each other before snowballing into a pile that echoed despondently down the empty alleyway.

"Oh hey, what's up…" the baritone drawled in a fairly uninterested manner.

"Gin-chan, I'm lost because that stupid prick student of yours led me here and then left me, I need to get home, but I don't know how, can you-" Kagura rattled off as quickly as she can. Asking for help was never a frequent habit of hers and her pride was suffering from an immense wave of soul pains, read embarrassment.

"Yeah…" the voice cut her off and Kagura was just a fraction too late in capturing the suspiciousness behind it. After a two second pause, there was a chuckle and… "… I'm probably eating a parfait right now. Please leave a message; I'll get back to you when I start caring about humanity in general." ~Beep.

Somewhere else in a seedy snack shop, Sakata Gintoki was idly spooning the contents of his third strawberry parfait into his mouth while watching the sky darken outside. His phone abandoned on the table and Kagura's rejected call joined the other 54 missed calls and 21 new messages on his phone's display.

Gintoki heaved a deep sigh and wondered how long the principal was going to hound him about the assignments he was supposed to mark and return by last month. Swallowing the spoonful of diabetes, Gintoki straightened with resolve.

"Alright, I'll just draw the results out of a hat tonight…" he declared to himself and went back to ordering a fourth parfait before casually rejecting the 55th call.

Kagura almost snapped her phone in a mixture of irritation and mortification at being tricked. She was no better off than 15 minutes ago. The girl stood still for a moment and wondered about her options.

_There __is __no __way __in __hell __I'm __calling __that __prick. _She decided before trekking off on her own.

Swallowing her words just a short two hundred metres later, Kagura sighed wearily before leaning against the dirty walls of backstreets while pressing her phone a bit too firmly against her head. Maybe if the radiation fried her brains before he could pick up, she wouldn't have to rely on anything at all, let alone that jerk.

"Hi China," the voice greeted her cheerfully with an undercurrent of mockery.

"Oi prick, where the hell am I?" she asked grouchily. Someone, otherwise simply termed Fate, obviously had a thing against her today, and just to spite her in a stroke of bad luck, the sky had split open, slowly drenching her while numbing her hands and feet.

"China how am I to know where you are," Okita replied sceptically, but he was smiling.

"How are you _not _to know where I am, you brought me here and ditched me," Kagura snapped and sniffed to keep her nose from dripping down her face. The balmy summer day had grown cold with the rain.

"I didn't lead you, your umbrella did. As for leaving, you didn't want to come with me in the first place," Okita taunted as he packed up the bento boxes calmly. "And are you crying?"

"No I'm not," she glared at the ground and sniffed again.

"You're sniffing," Okita pointed out.

"It's raining," Kagura retorted out while shaking excess liquid from her hair.

"Ah… fantastic observation skills, do you want a sticker?" Okita praised condescendingly into the phone. He could hear her bristle with annoyance on the other end as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Look prick, I'd just want my umbrella, and hopefully to bash your head if I got lucky. But really I think the umbrella is enough, so can you please just give it back so I can go home?" Kagura asked as kindly as she could, while soaking up the icy droplets like a dejected sponge.

Okita was grinning as he carefully prepared his words. He was slowly herding her options like a cat would skilfully back a mouse into a corner, leaving them trapped. "I thought you were lost, how will you go home alone?"

"I don't know ok? But I'll figure it out," Kagura replied, clear exasperation was slowly leaking into her tone. Okita picked it out like a child could pick out a red ball on a green lawn. He was definitely nearing his objective, and it was time to swoop in for the final blow.

"Let's play a game China, if you agree I'll come get you now, return your umbrella and then very _kindly_ chauffer you home," Okita suggested and waited with a smile for his response, although that smile was anything but kind.

"…" there was a pause and a sigh, she was out of options. "Whatever, just hurry up."

_Checkmate. _

* * *

She was shivering too much to aim straight when Okita finally found her in the network of confusing alleys that only he can map. Kagura promised herself that she would give him the mother of all punches sometime in the future. Hopefully when he would be least expecting it, maybe some time like when he is the bathroom with his pants around his ankles.

Okita, needless to say, continued with his innovative torture by using her umbrella to shield himself from the rain and himself only. His line of argument was that she was already wet, what was the point in sharing? She responded by viciously diving at any puddle she can find, so by the time they reached their objective, Okita was almost as soaked as her. He didn't seemed to mind as much tho.

When they came to a halt, Kagura realised they had backtracked to the school. Night had fallen and the drumming rain was the only sound around them. Okita turned to her and gave her a once over. Confused by his scrutiny, Kagura stood there and glared at him; partially soaked in his school uniform, covered in splashes of mud, curtsies to her undying efforts to get even.

"Ah… Red. How daring," Okita concluded before twirling around and spraying the girl with stray droplets that flew off her umbrella.

"Red?" she intoned before looking down. Of course… her uniform had gone see-through in the rain. Her face suddenly felt hot even though the boy had long diverted his attention to walking. Self consciously she wrapped her arms around her chest before chasing after the retreating figure. "Get back here you pervert!"

"If only there was something to perv on, ironing boards really don't count," Okita deadpanned and ducked to avoid getting slapped by the flustered girl.

As Kagura followed the heartless boy deeper into the school, she couldn't help by wonder what sort of a person he really was. Was there some undiscovered gentleness in his heart that made him come back for her? Or was it just another twisted challenge of his waiting to trap her in another difficult situation? Kagura frowned, if niceness existed within that blackened soul of his, the world would probably end. That would be terrible and hence for the greater good of mankind, she decided Okita Sougo was just rotten to the very last fibre of his very last hair.

Her sodden clothes were obviously proof enough of his sadism. She was wet and cold, not to mention half blind from the sweeping rain. Anyone that can so easily turn a blind eye on a girl struggling with such elements was obviously a demon in the making. Not to mention making her walk through the streets in transparent clothing. As the knowledge of all those looks she had received from the male population of various ages on the way back to school dawned on her, Kagura clenched her fist and grounded in the conclusion. Okita was beyond saving. Nothing would ever, _ever_ be able to exorcise those sadistic instincts from him.

Her thoughts seemed to have hit the boy in the back of his head with their intensity. For he turned around gave her a delightful smile. He was definitely enjoying this. Kagura ducked her head to restrain the furious urge to do nasty things to him. Abandoning her, then leaving her in the rain, then publically humiliating her and finally pointing it all out to her. That was a lot of psychological damage in the one go, and all he needed was the rain. He was quite masterful.

Even now he still has the upper hand. Whatever perverse game she had managed to get herself caught up in, she knew the option of quitting wasn't available. At least not yet.

"You stopped," she pointed out.

"Yes I did and you've stopped cursing me. I got worried and thought you might have drowned in a puddle," Okita feigned a small amount of care.

"Your concern is touching," Kagura replied tartly before raising a hand to shield her eyes from the pouring rain. "Well, what are playing?"

"This…" Okita gestured the building behind him.

The girl with her sodden red hair glanced pass the boy's outstretched arm and set eyes on the structure behind him. It was a crumbling building of sorts and most certainly didn't look welcoming in the slightest. Just above the chorus of the rain, Kagura could hear the eerie creaks and groans of the building's straining foundation.

Squinting hard enough, she could see the base of a normal looking school building, but as her eyes travelled upwards, the smooth work of concrete walls peeled away in places to reveal the skeletal framework of the abandoned construction. By the top floor there was nothing standing except the heavy set wooden beams reaching out like large gnarled fingers into the night. Another portion was piled with rubble which Kagura guess happened when the roof collapsed. The whole place was fenced off with "keep off" tape and simply stood as a real life metaphor for the word danger.

Despite the voice in her head that protested _No, __no, __no __don't __do __it!_Kagura gave him a hard stare and with a toss of her head that recovered a quarter of her dignity, the girl replied defiantly much like Okita had anticipated. "Whatever," She strolled forward, flicking rain and hair out of her face.

"Wait." Okita cautioned and reflexively his hand shot out and captured Kagura's cold wrist. The girl flinched at the sudden warmness and turned to glare at him. "First to the top," he decided on the simple rule. "By the way, the building is said to be haunted when a girl fell down the stairs on the third floor stairwell,"

"What are you trying…" Kagura narrowed her eyes as the wind snatched away her words. Her heart was beating frantically at the sudden warmth but at the same time, a feeling of dread weighed her down. She hated the supernatural more than anything. Before she can restructure the broken sentence, Okita had let go of her hand.

As he sprinted away, his words found her in an awkwardly comforting but mocking manner.

"If you need me, you know I'm just two calls away."

* * *

**Orion**** – **originally... there was supposed to be more. But I decided to put their great adventure through an abandoned building into the next chapter. ~ not much fluff today. Just more banter. On a side note, I fail at proofreading. If you pick up any embarrassing mistakes or inconsistencies please let me know.

Happy early Easter and hopefully I'll see you all soon. And yes, I'm a sloth, I'll start answering reviews soon. I do read them tho and they are great. (: I love hearing from you guys.


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